X-Factor Investigations
by Dash master 48
Summary: Mutant Town used to be a place where mutants can live as themselves without discrimination. Not anymore. When Decimation eliminated 90% of all mutant superpowers, a new group of former Mutant superheroes open a private investigation agency, with a promise to keep Mutant Town from killing each other. They are X-Factor Investigations, at your service. Collab with Ajer0965. Rewriting.
1. Phoenix: Prologue

**Before We Begin, an Author's Note from Ajer0695:**

 _I came across X-Factor Investigations pretty much by accident, and pretty much fell in love with the idea of private investigators in a Marvel universe. I really hope you guys enjoy me and Dash master 48's partnership for this version of X-Factor Investigations!_

 **And Here's My A/N:**

 **Hey there everyone! It's your pal Dash, here with a brand new story!**

 **So, like my collab partner (yes this is a collab) said up there, this story is going to be our own version of my second favourite X-Team. I do love Generation X, with all my heart. But X-Factor Investigations is also a team I adore to bits, and when my friend Ajer found out about the team, he offered me the chance to work with him on a fanon version of the series. So, here we are.**

 **Quick things to note; this may vary wildly from the actual series. Ajer told me he didn't want it to be a direct retelling, and so expect a 'fanon retelling' sort of thing. There will be original mutants, all of which were donated by yours truly. There will be original storylines. And there will be some good crime busting action in there for you guys to enjoy as well.**

 **That being said, get ready to X-pect the un-X-pected...**

 **Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to us (except my mutants which belong to me, two of whom are featured in this chapter).**

The cool, crisp night was a delight for the place called Mutant Town. A crowd had gathered outside the premier nightclub, the Red Moon, a sleek modern building in an otherwise dingy part of New York City, with the windows flashing between purple and red lights, and a large red neon sign of a red crescent moon above the door.

In the middle of the queue, a young woman in a pink dress and her boyfriend were waiting to get inside. Holding her boyfriend's back, the woman gazed into the stars.

"Ain't this a nice night, sweetie?" the woman said with a smile.

The boyfriend nodded.

"Spending the waning hours of the day with the most beautiful fiery girl in the world?" he asked with a smile as he gently placed his hand on his girl's ass, "Yeah, it's a wonderful night babe."

"It doesn't feel nice for others." The girlfriend gently fingered her hair and turned to look at the opposite side of the street. "Whole town's gone to Hell ever since that Decimation thing."

"Decimation? Is that what the media calls it? Don't worry babe, nothing bad happened to us, and nothing will. Guarantee it."

It wasn't long before the couple got to the front of the queue and were let inside. Inside the nightclub, groups of people were dancing, drinking, chatting and just generally having a good time as the couple found an empty area close to the wall to base themselves.

Putting their bags down, as the boyfriend went to the bar to grab some drinks, the girlfriend sat by her bag and looked around. In the distraction of the bright lights, she didn't notice someone approaching her from the side. Distinctly male, he was dressed mostly in black with a red zipper on his hoodie, and was carrying a cardboard box.

"Hey beautiful, want something that will make your night even better?" The man set the box on the table in front of the girlfriend. He pulled out a syringe that the girlfriend assumed was some sort of drug. "This baby here will give your body a turbo boost. We're talking "coffee-mixed-with-Red-Bull-on-steroids" turbo boost!"

The girlfriend looked at the syringe and then up at the guy. "If I say yes, will you please leave me alone?"

"5 bucks and I'm gone." The girlfriend gave over the money and received her syringe, with the guy making off just as the boyfriend returned and the girlfriend went to the bathroom to shoot up.

A few minutes later, once the girlfriend had returned and the two had danced for a bit, they went back to their seats to drink some more. The girlfriend was very excited, her pink eyes glowing along with her hands as her boyfriend got up to dance again.

"Up for another round? Night's still young?" The girlfriend nodded and took his hand as they returned to the dance floor.

As the music got bouncier, the girl was letting off small streams of pink plasma like energy that her boyfriend was redirecting away from the other dancers. However, the more the girl danced and the more excited she got, the brighter she began to glow.

"Hold me!" She suddenly jumped into the arms of her boyfriend in panic, as he was unable to handle the sudden surge of hot and uncontrollable plasma.

The other dancers in the club also looked rather shocked, as the girl panted in exhaustion, as her glow soon faded.

"You okay, honey?" The girl's eyes glowed pink.

"I'm... fine..." She suddenly gasped.

Seconds later, there was a massive explosion of pink fire as the Red Moon was destroyed, the screams of everyone within echoing into the night...


	2. Phoenix: Part 1

**Ajer2895's A/N: Alright, here is Chapter 1, written by yours truly! This proved to be a little challenging, and this was probably a rush job, so the quality is definitely affected. But overall I'm comfortable with what I have. This is our own Universe of X-Factor Investigations, so there are two very important changes here compared to the original comics. For example, we're not using superhero costumes as we want this to be an Urban detective story first, just with characters that have superpowers. Second, for creativity, we've decided to make Siryn a mute character. Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

 **Dash master 48's A/N: Here I am to say; welcome to the next chapter! If I'm honest with you, editing this was a challenge because at the time I was extremely worried for reasons that don't concern any of you or the story. But in the end, I think I made it. So, like he said above, there are some changes we are making to make things a little more interesting. Casual outfits, and Siryn being mute. As always, none of the characters belong to us except for my original characters and any characters that Ajer makes up. So let's get on with it!**

 **CHAPTER 1**

 **RICTOR**

Detective movie logic always tells you that the worst place to meet is a dark corner. Whether that be an alley in the middle of a run down city, the docks in the middle of the night, or in my case, a dingy abandoned warehouse.

Several scenes from old detective movies and shows rushed through my head as I stepped inside the warehouse. It was empty save for a few metal containers at certain places. There were some thick concrete square columns lining the place like a LEGO brick, and in the center was the only illuminated area thanks to the moonlight shining through the skylight. Standing in that area was the person I was meeting, a guy named Victor Buum. He was wearing a grey hoodie and jeans with short silver hair peeking out from under his hood, and shifted impatiently.

I walked toward Victor, the concrete floor echoing my footsteps like it does in the movies. I stuffed my hands into my light brown leather trench coat. Not because I was cold, but because I thought it looked cool. I let out a sharp whistle and Victor turned to see me approaching him, stepping into the square of light.

"You're late," Victor said annoyed. I held up both my hands in a form of mock surrender.

"Hey, traffic was rough," I said with a smirk, "It's not like I have any flying or instant teleportation powers?" Victor looked unimpressed. I can't blame him, that wasn't my best material.

"What do you want?" Victor said, "You drag me out here in the middle of the night to pick on me?"

"Hey, hey! Nobody's picking on you!" I said casually, "And even if I was, I wouldn't choose this venue, am I right?"

Victor just folded his arms with a pissed look. I sighed and put my hands in my pockets, putting on my serious face.

"So, as you probably remember, I'm investigating the disappearance of a young girl," I told him matter of factly, "Names Hannah Sanders. A really nice girl. Honor roll at her school, full ride to Empire State, the works. And suddenly she's gone. You were the last person to see her correct?" Victor didn't answer, but his foot shifted slightly.

"You also were the last person to see Grace, Chelsea, Rebecca, and Mary, correct?" I asked again to no answer, "You know what else all of those girls have in common? They disappeared roughly around the same area Hannah did. Specifically the corner of 23rd and East River Dr." Man I'm on a roll!

"So I did a little investigation, obviously, and found that the reason for this disappearance is kidnapping. Seems that some gang is picking innocent Mutant girls off the streets for a reason I still haven't figured out yet. But you know who's in charge of that gang? You."

Victor didn't answer, but his face said it all. I got him! He avoided eye contact with me, his foot was tapping on the floor, and his fingers shifted. All the signs pointed to him being the guilty one, and now all I have to do is officially arrest him and get paid!

Victor sighed and then let out a whistle. I suddenly heard several other footsteps echoing on the concrete floor, and looked around me to see other guys approach the lit area. They were all dressed like they were from an 80's heavy metal gang, with studded gloves, torn jeans, and leather vests. They also looked mean and vicious. One of them held a chain and was twirling it around. Another had a gold tooth, one had a nose piercing, there was guy with a ski mask, and the last one had a large green mohawk.

"Well Sherlock, you figured it out," Victor said, "Now we gotta make sure we don't talk now." I turned to Victor and smiled.

"An ambush huh?" I said feigning nonchalantly. This wasn't part of the plan, but I knew I could handle this. I may not have powers anymore, but I still have my fighting skills!

I started by punching Victor. Only, the punch didn't exactly knock him out. The minute my fist made contact with his face, I was suddenly blown off of my feet and flying through the air, all while a deep booming sound hammered my ears. I crashed into a metal container on the far side of the wall, my back suddenly screaming in numb pain. If I had my powers, I wouldn't have felt that, but I did. I realized that the other guys were blown off their feet too, all lying on the floor aching from the force. This Victor guy must be one of the still-powered Mutants left, which wasn't a problem for me, but I still should have saw that coming.

Before I could get up to figure out how to catch him, I suddenly noticed that the guy in the ski mask was next to me, also reeling from the shockwave. Actually, I meant guys! There were now suddenly two men, almost exactly identical to each other. I don't remember there being another guy in a ski mask there, but when I saw one of the guys touch the other, followed by a sudden yellow glow which caused the other guy to merge with him, I instantly realized who he really was.

"Madrox?" I asked in shock. Jamie Madrox suddenly looked at me and then slipped off his mask, revealing a handsome face with a short stubble and spiky brown hair. He had an embarrassed look on his face, like he was caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar. He straightened his light brown cardigan and mint green long sleeved shirt, with his denim jeans and black shoes having a little bit of dust and dirt on them.

"Well, shit," he said mainly to himself. He then pressed his finger on an earpiece (how come I don't have an earpiece?) and said "Alright guys, come on in!"

At that moment, the rest of my team crashed through the warehouse door and into the fray. I saw M fly in, wearing her maroon leather jacket over a light purple shirt and maroon pants with black heeled shoes. Her long black hair flowed smoothly as she swooped down on one of the goons and tossed him aside like a ragdoll. A giant moving mass of muscle ran in with his white tank top shirt, orange pants, unbelievably huge sandals, and tiny sunglasses that covered his tiny eyes. I knew that was Strong Guy, and he was followed by Rahne. I knew that was Rahne because she was the brown human-like wolf creature snarling at the gang, still wearing her blue t-shirt, ripped jeans, and brown leather jacket. Lastly, Siryn joined in the fray, who was wearing a green shirt and dark green jacket with her blue jeans. She screamed out sonic blasts from her mouth, which incapacitated the rest of the goons and caused her red hair to flap wildly like a flag.

Within a single minute, before I could even rush in to contribute, every single goon was down for the count, including Victor. Madrox clapped his hands lightly, obviously to avoid making more dupes, as he approached the gang with beaming smiles.

"Nice job team!" he said enthusiastically, "We really wiped the floor with these assholes!" Rahne turned back into her human form, showing a short red boyish haircut on top of her head. She turned angrily at Madrox.

"Ya know ye coulda' helped!" she said in a thick Scottish accent. Madrox feigned an offended look.

"Hey, I helped plenty!" he said, "I was the one who gave the signal!" M had her hands on her hips in a stern look, while Siryn approached Madrox and began signing with her hands with an irritated face.

"She says that just giving a single does not count as helping," M translated in her pronounced French accent.

"I know what she said," Madrox said rather flatly. He eventually turned to me and forced a smile.

"Hey Rick," he said. But before I could let him finish, I gave that asshole what he deserved with a sock on the jaw. The punch forced a dupe to pop out of Madrox, who stumbled for a bit before they both clutched their jaws and yelled "What the hell!" at me.

"The hell was all of this?" I angrily yelled at Madrox, who was just reabsorbing his dupe.

"Um, backup?" Madrox said confused but irritated.

"I thought I told you that I didn't need backup!" I angrily continued, "This was MY case! I had it!"

"I know!" Madrox yelled back irritated, "But there's still nothing wrong with a little extra help right?"

"Petite sotte," M said with a frown, "You could have just asked him."

"Thank you!" I said to her relieved that somebody was on my side.

"Okay, I'm sorry," Madrox said, though it didn't seem like he was sorry, "I just figured if I asked, you would say no anyway."

"That's exactly what I would have done!" I angrily replied.

"You just proved my point!" Madrox said before turning to the others, "How am I the bad guy here?"

"Ehi, bambini urlanti," Strong Guy called out. Next to him were five other little girls, all in nightgowns, dirty, and scared. These must have been the kidnapping victims.

"Can we discuss this AFTER we get these girls to the police?"

 **SIRYN**

A half an hour had passed. The girls were returned safely to the police, with the kidnapping ring and those behind it arrested. X-Factor Investigation was paid handsomely for the job, even paid extra for the other missing girls that hadn't been reported to the agency prior. If anything, the job was successful. Sitting back in our office however, you wouldn't feel that.

I was sitting on our tacky couch next to Rahne and M, while Strong Guy was leaning on the far wall with his arms folded. Jamie was leaning on the office desk, where the young, teenage blonde girl, Layla Miller was sitting typing on a laptop, trying to ignore the tension in the room. She was wearing a white top with a black, light pink and lavender striped skirt, grey leggings and grey shoes.

Rictor was standing across from Jamie, his arms folded, and an angry look in his face. His wavy brown hair flowed down his head to his shoulder, some strands covering his eyes.

"For the millionth time I didn't doubt your investigative abilities," Jamie said clearly annoyed. They were arguing about this ever since the job. They didn't even take a single slice of the warm pizza sitting in the box on the coffee table. Nobody ate it, except for Rahne, who was guzzling down on it ravenously. From what I understand, Rahne's transformation takes a lot of energy, so she always needs to eat large quantities of food right after.

I saw Rahne snarl as she shook her head to tear off a chunk of dough, marinara sauce and gooey cheese. I snickered at the sight. Rahne looked at me with her cheeks full of pizza.

"Wuh?" she asked with a full mouth.

 _You eat like a mangy dog_ , I signed to her with a sly smile. I could say it if I wanted to, but I've learned that when your superpowers involves letting out high pitched sonic shrieks, it's usually safer to not open your mouth and accidentally let out a sound that could break a glass. Easier on the throat too.

"What did she say?" Rahne turned to M, who just smiled and brushed her black hair to the side.

"Mon Cher, I don't think I should translate," she said with a chuckle, "You might not like it."

"So what, you don't trust that I can take care of myself?" Rictor argued back, "Just because I lost my powers during Decimation doesn't mean I'm weak!"

"I never said that!" Jamie said, "It's just that since you're de-powered you don't have any...advantages when you encounter mutant hostiles."

"So basically he's saying you're weak," Layla said out loud without looking away from her laptop.

"Not helping Layla!" Jamie hissed at her. Rictor just groaned in frustration as she slid his hands through his hair.

"Look, you talked me into joining your superhero group, the least you can do is trust me to at least be a part of it!"

"We're not a superhero group!" Jamie argued back, "We're a detective agency! I hired you for your investigative skills. Your combat abilities didn't matter!"

"Bullshit!" Rictor yelled back.

"Ai, ai, ai," Strong Guy said in an annoyed voice, "It's like watching two dogs yapping for a piece of trash in an alleyway!"

"Who said something about a dog?" Rahne looked up in anger, ready to strike the person that said the d-word. I snickered again.

"You know what? To hell with this!" Rictor angrily yelled as he turned towards the door, "I'm going home!"

"Dude, come on!" Jamie called out. But Rictor already had his hand on the doorknob. He opened the door, but instead of walking out, he stepped back in.

A woman in a tattered pink dress limped into the office, her hair frizzled and burn, her skin dark with scorch marks. There was a tremble in her lips as she looked up to Rictor.

"Excuse me?" she quivered, "Is this X-Factor Investigations?"


	3. Phoenix: Part 2

**Dash master 48's A/N: Stress, the beginnings of a cold, hesitance, general unmotivation... I had a hard time getting this one done, but I think I did a good job either way. In this chapter, the mystery thickens, and we are introduced to three brand new mutant characters! Speaking of, none of the characters except for the hoodied bloke, the girl from the prologue and the end of last chapter and the aforementioned new mutants belong to us. With that said, enjoy!**

 **Ajer2895's A/N: I have to admit, we've had a rocky start with our first two chapters. But part of the fun of writing is learning from your mistakes so that you can create better content. Here's hoping we provide some of the best material we can muster for the rest of the story!**

 **CHAPTER 2**

 **JAMIE**

"Is this X-Factor Investigations?"

"Uh... y-yeah?" Rictor told the girl who we all saw standing in the doorway. She looked as if she'd had a really bad time, with her skin and hair heavily burnt and her dress ripped up like an animal had attacked her.

"I'll handle this." I told Rictor as I stormed over to the woman. "Yes, this is X-Factor Investigations. What's the problem?"

"Can I sit down?" The girl asked. I nodded, and Monet grabbed a chair for her. Bending down to hold her hands, I looked at her, attempting to look understanding.

"Tell us everything." I told her. Rictor stood behind the girl, removing his trench coat to reveal his forest green vest, coupled with his grey trousers and black sneakers. The others seemed as desperate as me to know. Whatever happened to this girl must have been serious.

"I was out at the nightclub with my boyfriend. The Red Moon, to be precise." She began to explain.

"Red Moon? Isn't that one of, if not the most sought after club in Mutant Town?" Rictor piped up suddenly. The girl nodded at him and continued to speak.

"We found somewhere to sit, my boyfriend went off to get drinks... and this man came to me." The girl shifted in pain as I held her hand, looking like she was still in pain for all her burns. "He was dressed in a hoodie. Obscured his face."

"Must've been a bit dodgy. Did ye tell 'im to go away?" Rahne asked the girl.

"Actually, he offered me a drug. One he said would give me a boost." The girl continued.

"Boost? What kind of boost?" Layla asked. The girl moved her hand gingerly over her arm.

"I am a mutant. Utilised pink plasma. I burnt out my powers, though." She replied.

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

"Well, I got a bit hyped up. My boyfriend, who was also a mutant with the ability to redirect energy, couldn't handle my plasma, and then..."

"Then what?" Monet floated by the girl's side.

"Then I exploded. The whole nightclub, in ruins." The girl told us. I admit, this was shocking, but that stranger... she could have said no. Even Siryn seemed shocked.

"Terrible!" Guido looked down at the girl, who winced.

"After that, the only place I could think to go was here." The girl finished her story.

"What exactly did this hooded guy say to you?" I asked.

"Told me he had something to make my night better, gave me a syringe from his cardboard box for five bucks, then ran off." The girl said. I looked around the room at everyone else, then her.

Something was definitely up.

 **?**

Aaaaaaaaagh! No! Not again!

I sat straight up, breathing heavily as I pushed the blanket covering myself off and sighed. I was even having a hard time sleeping with naps. Being an insomniac sucks harder than anything, but when you used to have powers I think it sucks even harder.

"You okay?" I heard my roommate cry as he walked into the room with his can of soda. I nodded at him.

"It's just another post-mutation wakeup, that's all." My roommate nodded. Sometimes, I felt like he wished he had my powers instead of the ones he had. Translucent skin? Who in their right mind would want that?

As I took a sip of my cold water, there was a sudden knock at the door. Slipping off the bed, I walked to it and opened it up. Standing there was a guy who was wearing a black hoodie. He was trying to obscure his face as much as possible, and reached into his cardboard box.

"Good afternoon fellas. I have, right here, a drug that can change your life. Remember when you had powers? This can help you relive those days once more. I'll give you your powers back!" The guy held up a syringe. "Fancy it?"

"I'm n-not a d-druggie, so n-no t-thanks..." My roommate retreated into the apartment as I looked at the drug.

"I'll give it a go. I'm an insomniac thanks to that stupid Decimation. I deserve to have powers again."

"Excellent." The guy smiled. I handed him the money and he ran off, carrying the box under his arm.

As I closed the door behind me, I grinned at the syringe in my hand.

Spreading nightmares, here I come!

 **SIRYN**

"What are you going to do about this?" The girl asked Jamie, who I noticed was getting a little tight.

"We'll look into it." He advised. Rictor, however, didn't seem so convinced by the girl's story.

"What if this is all just misinformation? C'mon, it's an easy thing to happen!" He stated.

"It's true!" The girl shouted.

"I guess, what's your name?" He asked her.

"K-Katie, but some of my friends call me Plasma..." The girl looked a little overwhelmed. Jamie was clenching his fists tight.

"We don't even know if it's misinformation. I wouldn't get too in over your head." He warned. "No powers, remember?"

"Yeah, no powers! But I still don't get why you made me join in the first place!" Here we go again.

"I thought it'd be a good opportunity for you! There have been people without powers on superhero teams before." Jamie reasoned.

"Like Hawkeye?" Katie gave an example.

"Exactly." Jamie responded, before turning back to Rictor. "Why are you complaining so much? It's not like anyone's forcing you."

"Then maybe I do want to get out of here!" Rictor seemed pretty ticked at this point. The others were watching, and I was getting more het up every second.

"If you get out of here, what will change?" Jamie asked Rictor.

"We become one smart ass down?" Rictor folded his arms.

"Sorry about this." Money told Katie. "We'll look into it."

"Look, I've got nothing! Everyone in here has something about them that makes them stand out! I'm just an average guy now!" Rictor breathed heavily.

"What's so special about you now anyway?" Jamie looked at him in a mixture of anger and confusion.

By now, Rictor was at breaking point. I needed to do something.

" **HEY!"** I shrieked as I opened my mouth. Everyone held onto their ears as Layla's glass of milk shattered and everyone was left looking at each other once the screech died down.

 **?**

"I'm not funny? Am I? Ha! Look at yourself in a mirror! Your face is funny to me!"

As I listened to the sound of my own voice, I strolled along my wall. Not that it was mine, it belonged to whoever owns this block, but I liked to call it my wall. This was pretty much all the comedic enjoyment I got ever since M-Day.

"I like seeing you bend over. Because it allows me to get my kicks on! Geddit?" I joked, but I wish I knew where I was going.

"Woah!" I stumbled off the wall and tumbled onto the cold sidewalk. Looking at my leg, I saw it had been scraped and was bleeding on the far right.

"That looks nasty." I looked up and saw a fellow in a hoodie who was clearly trying to obscure his face as much as possible. He pulled out a first aid kit and patched me up, as I squirmed slightly.

"Thank you!" I told the fellow.

"You're welcome." He responded. "Say, fancy some mutant powers?"

"Well, yeah." I replied. "I've been waiting for ages to have some again!"

"Five dollars." I handed over the cash and received my drug. As the man walked away, I chuckled as I thought about all the jokes I'd be able to make and the tricks I'd be able to pull now I had this at my disposal.

 **MONET**

"Are you going to help me or w-what?" Katie stammered.

"We'll help you. But I think we should split up." Jamie told her then us.

"What good will that do f'r us?" Rahne piped up.

"Here's the plan." Jamie clapped twice, creating two dupes.

"Rahne, Guido, head to the Red Moon and see what clues you can pick up from there. Do you know where it is?" Jamie asked Katie. She wrote down the coordinates and gave them to him, which in turn were handed to the one of the dupes. Jamie then turned to me.

"Monet, you're going with Terry to the hospital. I suspect there might have been other survivors. Maybe they'll know something." He told me.

"What will you, Layla and Rictor do?" I asked him.

"We're staying here. Katie might be able to tell us a bit more about that mysterious guy in the hoodie she mentioned." He responded.

"Alright, get moving!" He called out. Rahne, Guido and their dupe headed out first, and I floated outside with Terry and our dupe soon after.

I had a feeling this would be an interesting case.

 **?**

As everyone should know, fairytales are supposed to have happy endings. Some can be rather sad. My case is the latter.

As I laid down on my couch, the loud noise from the rest of the houses on my block distracting me, I clutched my storybook close to my chest. I loved that thing. It helped fuel me to rule my own little kingdom.

"Pssst... hey!" I heard a voice come through my open window. Getting up, I saw a man in a hood on the other side. He pulled out a syringe and waved it about. "Did you have mutant powers?"

I nodded.

"Hand me some money and they could be yours once more!" The man offered. Hell yes! I'd be the mad storyteller I once was!

"Give me one!" I dangled five bucks out the window, and took the syringe in my other hand. The man then thanked me for my purchase and ran off.

Ehehehe! Now we're talking! I ran to my bathroom to inject the drug. Feeling a familiar rush of magical energy, I headed outside to do something fun. Flipping through my fairytale collection, I saw one of my favourite fairytales, Hansel and Gretel.

I looked up from my book, and almost fell over in shock. My own house had turned into one made out of sweets and chocolate! With a smile, I headed out into the streets, determined to see what else I could do.


	4. Phoenix: Part 3

**Chapter 3**

 **Rahne**

I've never been to the Red Moon before. Let's just say that all my experiences that involved heavy drinking and loud music usually ended with a destructive brawl on a good day. On a bad day it would still end with the brawl, but mixed in with growling, snarling, and a mess of blood. That said, I have seen the Red Moon in passing before, with its iconic red neon sign and pulsating windows.

Unfortunately, that building was now replaced with a smoldering pile of burnt rubble and wood. The pungent smell of ash, flesh, booze, and sweat compounded in my nose. I may have the power to change into a wolf-like monster, but I also have the wolf's sharp sense of smell. The smell was almost nauseating. I wanted to puke. But I knew that I was a X-Factor Investigator, which meant I must be professional.

"Damn, guess you can say this place went off with a bang huh?" the duplicate Jamie said with wide eyes. I glared at him. He's the one who tells bad jokes when nervous isn't he? Of course we end up getting him!

 _"Dio mio"_ , Strong Guy said in fearful awe, "Whatever Katie did really levelled the place."

The area was currently blocked by a long strand of yellow police tape. Police cars and fire trucks were currently stationed in front of the area, their lights flashing their continuous red and blue or red and yellow. We walked up to a police officer who was standing in front of the area sipping on a cup of coffee while looking over a checklist. He wore a light beige trench coat over a white and blue striped shirt and brown pants. A police badge was buckled on his belt. The man had squinty eyes, thick brown hair, and a bushy mustache under a large rounded nose.

"Hey Eddie!" Jamie said in a friendly attitude, "Long time no see! How are the kids?" Eddie looked up to Jamie and gave a frustrated sigh.

"Jamie Madrox," he said grumpily, "Like I haven't enough problems. Look this is a private investigation. No civilians allowed." Jamie just gave a friendly smirk.

"A private investigation huh?" he said cooly, "Well that's convenient because we're on a private investigation ourselves! So…" Eddie shook his head sadly.

"Sorry pal, no can do," he said, "Somebody already beat you to this investigation." Jamie's smile dropped.

"But...come on!" he said with a bit more desperation, "Who did you let in? The only other Private Investigative agencies in Mutant Town are X-Factor and-" He suddenly stopped, his eyes wide and his mouth dropped. We all turned to see the vehicles lined up. Police cars. Fire trucks. And sure enough, the silver steel luxury vans with the black logo stenciled on the side. The logo was a combination of the letters S and I. Singularity Investigations.

Jamie gritted his teeth and balled his fist. He took one deep breath and turned to me and Strong Guy.

"Excuse me," he said with a growl as he walked firmly to the silver vans.

"Oi, try not ta' kill them!" I cried out. Technically he would tell imei that, but I knew how Jamie felt about these rich fancy PI arseholes.

When Jamie left, Eddie turned to us and leaned in.

"Listen, I don't really trust these Singularity guys, but they gave me strict orders not to let anybody in," he said quietly, "I'll keep a lookout while Jamie keeps these guys busy. Get in there, do your thing, get out, and don't tell anyone I did this." I gave Eddie an affectionate hug, while Strong Guy gave an approval smile.

"Thanks Eddie," he said, "We owe ya!"

"How about with that recipe for those cannolis you sent us last Christmas?" Eddie asked.

" _Hai un accordo,_ " he said with a nod. Eddie lifted the police tape for me to go under while Strong Guy simply stepped over the tape. We walked into the pile of charred concrete and burnt wood. The smell was really clogging my nose at this point.

"Ai, how are we supposed to find anything in this mess?" I said while finally deciding to clog my nose.

"Well, you could just...sniff around," Strong Guy said.

"What do you mean?" I asked. Strong Guy gave me a " _you know what I'm talking about_ " look, which caused me to groan in annoyance. I transformed, my muscles straining as my human body turned into the wolf creature. I went on all fours and began to sniff the ground. I hoped to God my tail wasn't wagging!

After a few seconds of sniffing, I caught a whiff of something peculiar. I followed the trail briskly, Strong Guy following close behind me, until I stopped on tiled floor which must have belonged to the bathroom. The scent was coming from underneath a large stone slab, which Strong Guy automatically knew to flip over with ease. There was shattered glass, but not the drinking glasses. This was more of a plastic-y kind of glass, the kind used for syringes.

I caught a whiff of a funky smell. I recognized part of it as that chemical used in pool water. Chlorine. The second part was...something else. I didn't know what it was, but it smelled almost like burnt blueberry, somehow both appeasing and revolting. Somehow I knew this was the drug.

There was a whiff of a third smell. It wasn't part of the drug mixture. It was separate, from the outside part of the syringe. It was a flaky, almost stale smell. I recognized it as...granite?

 **Monet**

I never liked being in a hospital. Frankly, I don't think anyone likes being in a hospital. The hallways are cold, rooms are filled with tense visitors and rushing doctors, worry in their faces wondering if the people they are visiting were going to be okay or not. But for me, it's the smell. You ever notice how hospitals have this septic, dreary smell that tickles your nose and you can't make out exactly what it is? Was it coming from the walls, the people, or the medical scrubs?

Well, regardless, that smell was bothering me as Siryn, Jamie and I walked into the hospital. The smell and the number of doctors coming in and out of so many rooms. The entire hallway we entered was filled with many injured people, many which have severe burns that pierced through flesh, revealing lines of dark red under skins of pasty black and purple.

It was sickening to be inside this place, enough to make my stomach crawl and my chest tighten. I turned to see Siryn looking at me with a concerned, but understanding look.

 _We won't be here long,_ she signed at me, and I gave a small smile. It was nice to have someone who at least understood me like Siryn, unlike certain other people like Jamie. Apparently the dupe we were given by Jamie happened to be the flirty one! Luckily he didn't try to hit on either me or Siryn, but he was most definitely flirting with the nurse, who by some strange miracle of ignorance, doesn't seem to mind that a random guy was hitting on her while there were so many victims of a nightclub explosion in the very hall. After some talking, Jamie walked back to us, stuffing a tiny slip of paper in his pocket.

"Well?" I asked Jamie, "What did you get from the nurse?" Jamie smiled as he leaned by the wall.

"Well, her name is Candace," Jamie said, "She's into yoga, her favorite drink's the shirley temple, and apparently is a big fan of the Cyclone at-"

Siryn gave a firm throat clear, which temporarily shook a glass of painting frame on a wall, but otherwise no real damage.

 _She meant about the explosion,_ she signed with an angry look on her face. Jamie put his hands up in surrender as he was taken aback by both the sound and the look.

"Okay, okay, sorry!" he said, "Well, pretty much everybody in this hallway suffered massive injuries, from third-degree burns to broken limbs and trauma from the collapsing rubble. They already lost ten people, and most of the survivors are comatose."

Siryn place her hand over her mouth in shock.

"Are there any survivors conscience enough to answer questions?" I asked. I know it seemed cold to ask about case-specific information so soon after hearing those awful details, but we had a job to do and when we finish it, no one else would have to die from whatever this drug is.

"Only three," Jamie said, "One of them's awake right now. A bloke named Alex."

A minute later we all found Alex Romez in his hospital room. He was lying on his bead, half of his body blackened with burns. He was apparently one of the lucky ones, having found just exited the building right as it exploded. But he still paid a massive price for it. He'll love, but half of his body will be scarred permanently reminding him of the faithful day.

"Mr. Romez?" I began professionally, "My name's Monet St. Croix, this Theresa Cassidy, and Jamie Madrox. We're with X-Factor Investigations."

"The PI's?" Alex said, his voice croaky and in pain, "I heard about you guys. You're the cheap people for us mutants who can't afford the Singularity guys."

"Alex buddy, we don't talk about Singularity in this place...or anywhere for that matter," Jamie began talking before Siryn gave slap on the side to shut him up. It caused another dupe, but Jamie reabsorbed him back while giving a stern look at Siryn.

"Listen, we just wanted to ask some questions about what happened that night?" I continued.

"Yeah?" Alex said, "Well, so does everyone. I'll tell you what I told the police, which isn't much. I was leaving the club when it exploded. I didn't see who caused that explosion or any sign of a bomb."

"Alex, what about before you left?" I persisted, "Did you see anything then? Anything suspicious at all?" Alex took a minute to think before he spoke.

"Now that you mention it, I did see this weird guy walking into the club. Big broad shouldered guy, wearing a black hoodie with a red zipper. He came up to this pretty girl in a pink dress and offered her something. After that, he booked right out of the club."

"Big guy in a black hoodie and red zipper?" I asked, "Did you see his face at all? Any other recognizable traits?"

"Lady I didn't want to go near him," he said, "I grew up in Hell's Kitchen before coming here, and let me tell you, these guys...you don't mess with them?"

"These guys?" I repeated, "You mean like a gang?" Alex nodded.

"What gang?" Jamie asked, "And who's in charge?"

 **?**

The broad shouldered man walking into the garage with big wads of dollar bills rolled up in his pocket. A smile crept on his face as he entered, the sounds of electric equipment and clanking metal greeting his ears with music. Business was good, that's why he was happy.

He lowered his hood revealing a bald pale head, the skin stale and solid. It was a skin of living granite...or at least something close to it.

His three fellow dealers also walked in, also removing their hoods. They had smiles on their faces as well, a sign of good business. The three were going to be having a nice long night of drinks, drugs, and ladies tonight!

But the garage went silent very quickly when the boss showed up. A big hulking man, his face obscured by shadow, stomped in the main room in front of the dealers. A large silver monkey wrench was in his hand.

"Hey boss!" the dealer spoke confidently, "Great day today! Made a solid 200 bucks!"

"Great day?" the boss' deep booming voice asked mockingly, "Yeah, it's a great day alright. Especially considering one of you assholes apparently gave the product to a mutant and blew up a nightclub." The dealers' good mood dropped as they suddenly looked at each other in combined confusion and shock.

"I made it very clear on day one that the product I mixed for you, this Messiah drug, is specifically designed to give mutants their powers back," the boss said, "You give this stuff to a mutant, the effects are dangerous. But apparently one of you bozos didn't get the memo, and now a night club gets destroyed, Singularity Investigations is hovering all over it like bees over jelly, so it won't be long until somebody realizes our operation."

The boss looked down at the dealers.

"Now...which of you idiots sold Messiah to a mutant?" the boss asked. There was a long dreary, dead silence, only broken by rhythmic thuds of the monkey wrench swinging into his other hands, like a slow, metal, handclap.

"I-It was me boss," one of the dealers said as he stepped forward, "I just figured that-you know, if the drug can give mutants back their powers, imagine what it can do to someone with powers you know? I mean, it looked like she was having a good time with it."

"It's cool man," the boss said as he placed one of his free hands on the dealer's shoulder, "It's cool. You didn't know. That's understandable. So who was the lucky mutant?"

"Uh, some pretty girl in a pink dress. She shoots these plasma bolts or something out of her hands. I think her boyfriend called her Katie?"

The boss gave the dealer a reassuring pat on the shoulder, then swung the wrench at his head. With a sickening crunch, the dealer fell to the ground, his granite skin slightly chipped. The boss swung the wrench at his head again and again.

 _ **CRUNCH. CRUNCH. CRUNCH.**_

After a few more swings, the dealer went limp and silent, his head cracked as a puddle of blood slowly emerged from underneath.

"Steel?" the boss said panting and dropping his bloody wrench, "Find this Katie girl. Make sure she and whoever she comes in contact with never speak again."

A man in a grey t-shirt with blue denim vest, black pants, and sneakers stepped forward. His black hair was slicked back as he gave a nasty grin under his thin pointed nose. He held an arm out, which instantly turned into a metal steel spike.

"Whatever you say boss."


	5. Phoenix: Part 4

**Ajer2985's A/N: Well, this took a bit longer to get done than both of us hoped, but it seems like things are going relatively smoothly. Dash master 48 and I collectively decided it would be best to write half/half for the other chapters instead of taking turns with each chapter, so we'll be doing that for now on. Oh and fun little nugget, the doctors that appear at the end of this chapter are meant to be cameo appearances by me and Dash master 48 respectively.**

 **Dash master 48's A/N: Hmmmmmm, let's see... this took an absolute age in the end, so I'm sorry for that, I wrote precisely one part of it... huh. Guess this is quality. Anyway, welcome back! Here... you'll see. Anyway, enjoy!**

 **CHAPTER 4**

 **JAMIE:**

"Granite?" I asked in my cell phone. Me, Rictor, and Layla were waiting around in the office, with Rictor laying on the couch with an old magazine he's already read a million times already, while Layla was busy clacking away on her laptop. Katie walked in the main office, wearing one of Monet's jeans, and maroon T-shirts. I silently hoped Monet didn't mind him allowing Katie to borrow her clothes.

"That's what I smelled," Rahne answered on the phone, a bit annoyed at having to repeat herself, "Along with chlorine and some other substance I don't recognize."

"Yeah, but the granite part," I said with my detective gears whirring in my head, "Who puts granite in a drug?"

"It wasn't exactly IN the drug," Rahne said, "I smelled on the outside of the glass casing, most likely the syringe. Honestly though, it could have just come from all the rubble here, this place is like a war zone."

"Or, maybe it's from where the drug was made," I theorized, "Or who made it."

"What are you saying?" Rahne asked.

"Well, Monet called earlier and mentioned that apparently our mysterious drug dealer wore a black hoodie with a red zipper," I said. Some silence, and then Rahne spoke.

"You're kidding me!" Rahne said shocked.

"Unfortunately not," I said, "Listen, meet us back at the office. We're going to need to form a new game plan."

"Got it," Rahne said. Suddenly, there was a loud crashing sound, almost like an explosion.

"What was that?" I asked concerned.

"Uh, I gotta go!" Rahne said worried and then hung up. I flipped the phone closed and put it in my pocket, concerned.

"What happened?" Rictor asked me.

"No clue," I replied, "Sounds like Rahne and Strong Guy ran into some trouble. Hopefully nothing serious."

"I hope they're okay," Katie said with some concern before walking up to me with a bowed head.

"Listen um, I wanted to thank you for all you've done so far," Katie said, "And I'm sorry I can't be of anymore help, so...I'm just going to head home."

"Don't!" I said, maybe a little too urgently, "Uh, what I mean is, I think it's best you stay here, for your safety."

"Safety?" she asked me, her eyes widening in worry, "Why? Is someone after me?"

"I don't know," I answered, "But knowing who must have made this drug, you could be a target?"

"Why?" Rictor asked, "Who made this drug?"

"Tombstone," Layla suddenly with her same deadpan seriousness, "Big time crime boss that operates in Hell's Kitchens, known primarily for manufacturing Diox-3, the drug that gives the taker granite like skin for immunity." We just stared at Layla until she looked up at us.

"What?" she asked, "You mentioned granite so I just did a little searching."

"Uh, okay," Katie said still a little stunned, "But what exactly does that mean?"

"It means, Tombstone doesn't like witnesses and seeing as you survived a nightclub explosion after taking one of his drugs…"

"Oh crap!" Rictor said to himself realizing what this means.

"Yeah, so if you don't mind, I suggest you stay here, just to be safe." Katie looked at me with a look of worry and uncertainty, but she finally sighed in agreement nodding her head.

"Alright, now we just have to wait for everybody to get back," I continued, "We need to figure out exactly where the drug is coming from and find Tombstone."

"Uh, guys?" Layla said, "You might want to make a little detour on the plan. I've been going over police reports and movements. Looks like there have been quite a few bizarre murders in the Star Scape Luxury Apartment building complex."

"How bizarre are we talking?" I asked curiously.

"One guy died from overeating candy that wasn't anywhere in his house," Layla said, "Another lady was decapitated almost royal execution style."

"That is weird," Rictor said in thought.

"Wait, you don't think this is someone luring us out right?" Rictor asked concerned, "By whoever Tombstone sends to find Katie?"

"Somehow I doubt it," I said, "But just in case, Layla keep an eye on Katie and contact any of us if somebody comes in for anything." Layla looked up at me with a look of disgust in her face.

"You're leaving me here to babysit?" she asked.

"What? No, of course not!" I said defensively, "I'm just asking you to keep an eye on our guest while Rictor and I are out of the office." Layla just glared at me.

"Dude, that sounded very close to babysitting," Rictor said.

"Shut up," I replied as I turned toward the exit, "We'll be back soon."

 **SIRYN**

"We're definitely lost," Monet said very annoyed this time.

"Hey it's not my fault that this hospital has a strangely confusing layout!" Jamie dupe said in annoyance. "I could have sworn the elevator was this way!" We had been walking around the surprisingly winding labyrinth of the hospital for the past half hour, and every time we feel we are close to an exit, the path shifts. I couldn't help but have an uneasy feeling about what is going on, and the constant bickering between Monet and Jamie was not helping matters.

"We should honestly ask someone right now," Monet said irritatedly.

"I don't need any directions!" Jamie countered, resulting in a scoff from Monet.

"That's just typical of you men!" she said, "Always trying to prove to everyone you do not need any help, and have to rely on a woman to get the actual shit done!"

The two continued to argue, like a married couple not getting any progress in their relationship. I was rolling my eyes in frustration as I walked silently behind him, hugging myself because of how cold it was getting. The fluorescent lights hummed overhead, buzzing like bees. Yet, for some reason the lights were dim, dark, and almost...evil.

Then the voice called. A little girl's voice. One that I recognized. I turned to my left to find a little girl with red hair in a green dress standing barefoot in the hospital wing. She looked at me, her green eyes shining in the dark, before running off to another hallway. As she ran, I heard her call out again.

"Mama!"

I followed her down the hallway, first walking and then jogging. The sound of the girl's footsteps echoing in the halls. As I ran the hallway grew darker, the buzz of the lights suddenly fading. I couldn't hear my own footsteps anymore.

I turned one more time to find that the little girl had disappeared. Instead stood a woman that looked almost like me. She too wore a green dress, this time with white flower patterns embroidered on it. Red hair flowed down her back, and her sharp green eyes pierced the darkness. She gave me a sad smile.

"Mama?" I asked in a normal voice I never heard in a long time.

Then the explosion. A giant ball of fire erupted from behind the woman and swallowed her. Her face didn't change. She still had the same sad smile.

"Mama!" I cried out as I fell backwards, the shockwave of the explosion blowing me from my feet.

I was caught by two strong as I fell. A doctor had caught me, one with dark skin, square glasses, black hair, brown eyes, and a bit of a gut.

"Woah there! Are you okay ma'am?" he asked me concerned. I think I was crying when he asked that. I tried signing him to tell him that I was okay, a lie that I wanted to believe, but my hands were violently shaking in fear that I'm not sure if the doctor understood me, even if he could understand sign language in the first place.

"It's okay, it's okay," the doctor said soothingly, "No need to be scared. Your friends are worried for you. I'll take you to them." The doctor put his hand on my shoulder and guided me down the hall. I was barely paying attention to where we were going, the image of my mother in the explosion still rattling in my head. I barely remembered what my mother was like before she died, yet for some reason, that particular memory has always remained in my head, haunting me in my sleep throughout my childhood until I was found by Jamie and the X-Factor, long before Decimation, and long before starting X-Factor Investigations.

The doctor lead me through a door and suddenly I found myself in a hospital room. Jamie and Monet were both there, tied to hospital beds and shaking violently in fear. Another doctor was there smiling at me, a woman with pale skin, medium black hair, and blue eyes. Next to her was a man wearing a dark leather jacket with brown hair, with two long strands falling downard in front of his face. He had a sinister look to his face, almost evil.

"Oh, how I have been waiting for this!" he said with a sinister glee. Before I could react, I felt a jab in my neck as the male doctor held me tight. A tingling sensation rapidly crawled from the jab to my body as my arms and legs went numb. My brain was fuzzy and my eyelids heavy.

Before I knew it, I was unconscious.

 **?**

As I stood over my newest kill, feeling as cheery and happy as ever, I knew that soon people would come and find me out.

But I wasn't going to let that happen! It's probably going to be Singularity Investigations, they nick many non-do-gooders around here.

But there was another agency. X-Factor Investigations, I believe it's called. But I knew that if anything, they wouldn't show up. Surely.

After thinking, I pulled out a small glass bottle and two small cups. Pouring the contents of the bottle into the cups, I smiled and patted my pocket, where a vial containing the antidote was kept. This should slow them down.

As I swung out the window, I took one last look back at the crime scene.

Whoever shows up, they'll be in for a treat.


	6. Phoenix: Part 5

**Ajer0695's A/N:** It's challenging to work in a lot of plot details in short amount of spaces. I had to cut a lot of stuff out from my original ideas, and I hope it's worth it.

 **Dash master 48's A/N:** Sorry for taking forever... again... my life carries a lot of distractions. Anywho, in this chapter, everyone begins to reunite, we learn more stuff about Katie and our mystery fairytale killer starts getting withdrawals. Enjoy!

 **CHAPTER 5**

 **RICTOR**

"Well, here we are." I glanced up at the large purple sign that was displayed outside the fairly normal block of apartments. Well, inside, they were anything but normal, especially with all the weird shit that had happened there recently.

"All the murders took place here." Jamie looked at the sign, which read 'Star Scape Luxury Apartments'. "But what I want to know is, why do they sound so weird?"

"Like death from overeating candy, that girl losing her head..." I listed off before Jamie gestured me to follow him into the building.

Once we got inside, the quiet lobby area looked like a hurricane had blown through it. The papers on the receptionist's desk were strewn all over the place, one of the couches had flipped over, and by the elevator was a couple of body bags which I assumed contained the corpses.

While Jamie went to check the bodies, I looked behind me and out of the window above the entrance into the sky. It was one thing to feel useless. It was another to be dragged out to find a weird murderer without knowing if they have powers or not and will curbstomp you.

"Oh, yeah, she's definitely lost her head." Jamie remarked behind me, having seen the corpse of the headless woman. Not wanting to see it, I looked towards the staircase that led upstairs to the apartments and the police officer standing there, watching us over with a rather fierce glare.

"Let's go upstairs, to her room." I suggested to Jamie and he nodded. I informed the officer of who we were, and he lead us up the stairs and down a corridor to the 5th apartment.

As we entered the room, just like the reception area, it was a mess. The living area and kitchen was cluttered with some pretty strange items. There were playing cards all over the floor, what looked like a scythe resting against the trash can, and a large rose bush by the window!

Jamie picked up and inspected the scythe. "This doesn't look like the murder weapon." He stated. "Her corpse looked like she'd had her head lopped off by an axe."

"The culprit must've put it there to mislead us." I told him, just as I picked up something... sweet.

"Hey, Jamie, do you smell anything weird?" I asked, taking a sniff of the air. It smelt like a rose if it was drenched in sugar. It was so strong and potent, I wondered if the murderer accidentally left the candy from one of the other murders behind.

Following the scent into the bedroom, I saw on the girl's makeup table were two small cups. Each cup had some pale pink water inside it. It was what smelt so good.

"Is this what smelt so nice?" Jamie entered next to me, looking at the cups. I nodded.

"If it smells this good, it should taste as good." I said, taking a cup. Jamie took the other cup.

"To being on the right track. Hopefully." He said, as we clinked the classes and I downed my drink as he did the same.

As I suspected, it tasted as good as it looked. Though it was simple rosewater, it had enough sugar to keep my sweet tooth satisfied. Looking at the rest of the bedroom, I noticed the bed was bloodstained and mangled, with the sheets strewn all over the place. That must have been where the murder happened.

As I stood examining the crime scene, I couldn't help but feel... funny. As if I was an orange being squeezed. At first I just dismissed this. Until I looked down.

I certainly didn't remember my shoes being THIS big! As I thought about my current situation, I felt my head bang on the ceiling.

"Ow!" Rubbing my head, looking at myself as I lay squeezed between the wall, the bed and the makeup table, I still felt like I was growing. But thankfully, the sensation had stopped, leaving me as a squished giant.

"What happened!?" I exclaimed while shuffling uncontrollably. I had to be careful if I didn't want to break anything. Not that it mattered, the apartment wasn't exactly owned by someone anymore...

"I want to know as much as you do!" I heard a tiny little voice squeak. It sounded like Jamie had drunk helium. Which I have to admit, was pretty funny.

"Jamie?" I asked.

"Down here!" The voice squeaked again, and I saw on the floor Jamie, having lost a lot of height, jumping up and down and trying to get my attention.

"What did that water do to us?" I asked.

"It turned me into a midget, I know that much!" Jamie cried. From my perspective, he looked so very tiny!

"At least I don't have to worry about being squashed like a bug!" I chuckled slightly. Jamie looked up at me, visibly grumpy.

"You're big and I'm small! You can crush things, but I'll get crushed! We shouldn't have fallen for that!" He shouted at me.

"The smell of the water was too strong." I admitted. Jamie looked like he was on the verge of a temper tantrum. Being in this apartment with a squeaky voiced insect sized mutant detective wasn't the situation I thought I'd find myself in today!

"There has to be something we can do to stop this!" Jamie said, as we started looking again. Being, well, huge, I was stuck facing the left wall. Jamie, however, could get into all the nooks and crannies. So while he frantically looked around the room, I stared at the wall. But soon... I spotted it.

"Jamie!" I said. Feeling something crawl into my hair, I realised Jamie had somehow climbed up me and gotten onto my head. It wasn't long before he slid down and sat on my nose.

"What is it?" He asked. I pointed it out. On the windowsill was a single page from a book, with the words 'Alice in Wonderland' written on it. The window was also open, enough for someone to get through.

"I think we've got a storybook killer." I stated, before Jamie climbed back up my face.

"Let's get out of here." He told me. I was about to nod, but I shook my head instead. With me stuck inside the room, there was no way I was going to-

With one great push, I rolled across the room and through the wall, with Jamie catching the page as I fell down onto the sidewalk.

"Jamie, are you okay?" I asked as I got up to dust myself off. Woah... Mutant Town certainly looked different at this height. Everything was a bit smaller.

"Yeah, I clung to your hair." He replied as he sat on my shoulder. "Let's go." He said, clutching his page tightly.

As I wearily set off, I looked down at myself.

' _I never felt this strong since I had my powers. I could crush buildings like this! But I am on a mission. A mission to catch this killer. I shouldn't destroy stuff._ ' I discouraged myself.

 **MONET**

My eyes fluttered open, heavy like a garage door. They were suddenly bombasted with sharp light that I had to shut them once more.

"M?" I heard a voice call out, "M? M!"

My eyes suddenly shot open as I gasped in shock. I was lying in a hospital bed in one of the hospital rooms, illuminated only by one of those medical lights surgeons use to see their operations. Jamie was looking down at me, looking worried before sighing with relief as I woke up and sat myself on the bed. Siryn was sitting in another bed, silently sobbing to herself. Warm tear strands were crawling down my cheeks.

"What happened?" I asked.

"This asshole tried to mess with our heads," Jamie said. He pointed towards three unconscious bodies, two in white doctor coats and one wearing a leather jacket. That man was currently tied to a chair with the words "This is Knightmare, he tried to kill us. Courtesy of XFI."

"Knightmare," Jamie explained pointing towards the man with the leather jacket, "He tried to make us go crazy with some messed up dreams, even took control of the two doctors to restrain us."

"I think it almost worked," I said wiping my tears, "I was him again. Penance." The images from the dream were still vivid in my brain. My brother Marius' evil grin, the blood-red skin, the millions of people that I slaughtered without anyway of stopping it. I could still smell the blood and my stomach was still twisting as I slowly got up from the bed.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Jamie said reassuringly, "It was just a dream."

"No, it wasn't a dream," I said, "It was my past. I did all those horrible things." I looked over to Siryn who had just stopped crying, tears still on her face, as she signed to me.

 _At least it's over now,_ she signed.

"How did we get out?" I asked.

"I had to bite my tongue to create an extra dupe and knock the son-of-a-bitch out," Jamie said oh-so-casually, "Let's get out of here. I called the cops and gave them an anonymous tip. They should be here to pick him up."

"The note?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey! If Spider-Man can do it why can't I?" he said.

 **KATIE**

"You know I've always wanted to be a detective," I said out loud. The silence in the nearly empty office was getting awkward and irritating me. Layla, the young girl, was just sitting and clacking away at her laptop as usual, occasionally popping a bubble from her bubble gum. She glanced up at me as I shared my little trivia tidbit, not particularly interested in the conversation, but still surprised that someone was talking to her.

"You wanted to be a PI?" Layla asked.

"Yeah," I replied, "Used to be a fan of the Nancy Drew books as a kid. Was even considering learning law enforcement in college, at least before I found out about my powers and was sent to Xavier's school."

"Well you must have had low standards," Layla said, "Private Investigation is a lot more boring than it looks. Most of the time you're just asked to check if someone's wife, husband, lover whatever is screwing somebody else behind their back. The last case we were on, investigating some kind of kidnapping case was one of the few real 'legit' investigations we've done."

"Well, it's not always about the thrill of investigating right?" I said, "I mean, with this kidnapping case you mentioned, you helped a bunch of taken girls go back to their families. And even with all those infidelity cases, at least you're helping people find out if someone special to them is secretly hurting them right? I mean, the job might not be glamorous but if it helps people in desperate need for help then it's worth it right?"

Layla looked up at me, an intrigued look in her eyes.

"You have a backstory don't you?" Before I could reply, there was suddenly a knock on the door. I turned to see a shadowy figure behind the door's glass window, unable to make out who it was. Maybe it was Jamie, but where were the others? I looked at Layla, who had an equally concerned look in her eyes. Eventually she got up and opened the window behind her.

"Two floors down on the fire-escape," Layla quickly said in a serious tone, "Stay there and don't make a sound, I'll drive whoever this guy is out of here." I quickly nodded and crawled out the window onto the fire-escape. When Jamie and Rictor left, we talked about this issue, that if somebody other than an X-Factor Investigation member showed up, I should keep scarce. She somehow knew that somebody was after me and that somebody might arrive to try and attack. When I asked her how she knew, she replied that she just knew.

I descended a couple flights down the fire escape and tried listening to what was happening. It was hard to make out the exact words that were being said, but I definitely heard somebody say "Where's the girl?" Somebody's definitely looking for me! The conversation continued until suddenly the words were replaced with sounds of thuds, grunts, and objects shattering. Suddenly, a large grey mass shattered the window and onto the fire-escape, bending the guard rail in the process. It was a large metal man who looked down and saw me. He grinned as his arm morphed into a large steel blade.

"There you are!" he said gleefully. There was another yell as Layla jumped towards the metal man, causing the railing to break and the two to fall several feet onto the alleyway below. The man landed on the asphalt floor with a loud clang, breaking the asphalt in the process. Layla, being on top of him, rolled off the grey man dazed and disoriented. It was lucky the metal man landed on the floor instead of her! The metal man stood up quiet dazed and staggered towards Layla. Before Layla could get back up, the metal man grabbed her by the hair and lifted her up off the ground. His other arm morphed into a blade.

"You were a real thorn in my side bitch!" he said to Layla as he raised his bladed-arm. I felt intense heat rush through my body in anger, as I felt crackling surges of energy in my arms, eyes and hair. Without thinking I raised my arms up and back, facing the metal man.

"HEY!" I cried out in anger, "LEAVE HER ALONE!" I shot my arms forward and suddenly a massive beam of purple plasmic energy shot out of my arms and hit the metal man, who dropped Layla. The beam pushed the man down into the asphalt and across the alleyway, the asphalt tearing up as he crashed into the brick wall. When the beam dissipated, I collapsed forward on to the railing, just in time to see purple lighted veins fade into my arms. The metal man was now lying on the alleyway slightly smoldering but unconscious. Layla looked genuinely surprised at what just happened and looked right at me, as if she was asking for an explanation. Frankly, her guess was as good as mine.

"What the bloody hell happened here?" I looked up to find Rahne, Guido, and one of Jamie's doubles standing in the alleyway awestruck at the sight. Guido was carrying an unconscious man dressed in a jester's outfit, his face covered in black soot and his hair tied with bows.

"Uh, something," Layla said not sure of how to describe what she witnessed, "But what happened to you?"

"You really don't want to know," Guido said irritated and embarrassed.

 **?**

As I lay napping in the darkness of an alley, trying to get a kip while ensuring people wouldn't get towards me, I smiled up at the sky and then turned towards some brambles I had summoned to block the alley's entrance.

"Good going guys!' I whispered to them, as I laid back down to nap again.

But suddenly, I felt like my head was going to explode. Sitting up and putting a hand on my head, I looked back towards my brambles, only to my shock they were beginning to wither and die.

"Just... ow..." I murmured to myself as I picked myself up and then started to gather up my stuff.

I had no idea what just happened, but I wondered that maybe I should take it easy from now on. I pulled out my book and flipped through the pages, trying to find a story to utilise to stop people from bothering me as I walked through the empty street.

I soon found one that looked promising.

' _Heh, this one should be good._ ' I thought, and after taking the power of the story into me, I ran into a nearby building and started setting up my next hiding spot.

I've turned my house into sweets, but I was still craving more. Maybe some gingerbread men would satisfy me for now.


	7. Phoenix: Part 6

**Chapter 6**

 **Layla**

Five minutes of awkward and nervous silence passed before Monet, Siryn, and the third Jamie dupe finally arrived back at the office. When they did, I saw their surprised expressions as they obviously noticed the shattered office window behind me.

"What happened here?" Jamie dupe said as he walked to his other Jamie dupe and reabsorbed himself.

"Short version: Somebody came looking for Katie here and then she blasted him," I said pressing an ice pack against my sore head.

"Wait, what?" Monet said surprised. Katie lifted her arm in response and summoned a light pink plasma ball from her fingers before dissapating it. The three looked at her shock.

 _But how?_ Siryn signed.

"Well, our working theory is that it's a withdrawal from the drug," Guido said with his arms folded, the soot cleaned from his face.

"You know how when you don't have a certain drug for a certain amount of time you get these nasty side effects for a short period of time until your body adjusts to your new state?" Guido continued, "We think Katie's little explosion and subsequent power loss is this drug's withdrawal."

"Huh, so I guess it's not that bad," Katie said with a nervous smile, "I mean, aside from the whole blowing up part."

"But Katie and Layla weren't the only ones attacked tonight," Rahne said, "Guido here got ambushed by a clown!"

"A clown?" Monet asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Technically it was a Jester," Guido said.

"Not just a Jester, THE Jester," I said as I began typing on my keyboard. Once I reached the page I was looking for, I turned the laptop around to show everyone. On the laptop screen were two mugshots for our two attackers.

"Meet Steel and Jester," I said, "Two mutants with a pretty solid record of arson, burglary, murder, you name it. But get this! According to their medical records, these guys are supposed to be 100% de-powered!"

"From the Decimation?" Katie asked, "Then how did they get their powers back?"

"Well, either A. somebody found a cure to Decimation," I said, "Or B. it might have something to do with the drug you took."

"Of course that makes sense!" Jamie said in excitable detective mode. "Katie, you said when you took the drug it enhanced your powers greatly right?"

"Yes," Katie responded, eager to know where Jamie was going with this.

"Well, what if this drug isn't just a power enhancer, but can actually GIVE depowered mutants BACK their powers?"

"So Jester and Steel must have gotten their hands on that drug somehow," Guido continued, "Maybe through a buyer."

"The guy in the black and red hoodie," Katie continued, "Didn't you guys say they were part of Tombstone's gang?"

"iOuii" Monet responded, "But Tombstone's been pretty quiet for the past year. Hard to know if he changed shop and if so, where."

"Well," Jamie said, "One way to find out. Layla? Could you check the database for a Knightmare? He probably should be in police custody by now."

"Give me a sec," I said as I began rapidly typing on my keyboard, "Found him. Also supposed to be de-powered. Currently locked up in the precinct."

"Alright," Jamie said, "And where did you put Steel and Jester?"

"Locked 'em both in the kitchen," Rahne said, "Tied them up good with duct tape if they try anything."

"Great!" Jamie said clapping his hands in eagerness, "You guys stay here and see if our guests know anything about where they met their respective dealers. Rictor and I will-" He stopped and looked around confused.

"Uh, where's Rictor and Prime me?" Jamie asked.

"Oh yeah, they left to investigate some strange murders at an apartment complex near here," I said, "They should be back by now?"

"Uh, excuse me? Do you guys they're delayed because of that?" Katie asked as she pointed towards the office TV we have hooked up on the upper corner of our office. I fished out the TV remote from an office drawer and turned up the volume. A news broadcast was playing as an anchorman was talking about reports of a giant man stomping around mutant town.

An image of that giant man appeared on the screen, and he looked an awful lot like Rictor.

 **Jamie**

I wouldn't have minded sitting on Rictor's shoulder if I was my normal size. But I wasn't. Being only about three or four inches meant that the world looked even larger from up here then it did when I was on the ground.

As Rictor slowly made his way through Mutant Town, I clutched his shoulder with one hand and the page we found with the other. Shivering lightly as the cold wind brushed over me, I took a breath.

"Hey, where are we going?" I shouted up to Rictor. Hearing that squeaky voice come out of my mouth was, frankly, embarrassing. Something like this definitely doesn't paint us as better than Singularity.

"I don't know yet!" Rictor called back. I could hear some mutants down below us panic and one standing on a roof even fainted. Not only that, but the wind was getting chillier, and it had started to get more blustery.

Suddenly slipping towards the back of Ric's shoulder, I grabbed onto his jacket with my free hand. As I kept gripping tightly to it, the wind felt colder and harder to me, and it wasn't long before I was blown away.

"RICTOR!" I shouted as the wind blew me around and tossed me like a ragdoll. I felt like I was in a washing machine. As I looked at the page I still had, flapping wildly in the wind, I got an idea.

Grabbing the other end of the page with my free hand, I lifted the page above my head and now it was like a parachute, as the wind blew me backwards. Kicking the air as I continued drifting further from Rictor, seeing a mutant or two below me turn their heads and notice the giant man, I didn't notice where I was being blown to.

 **THUNK**

Smacking abruptly against what felt like metal, I fell down a dark tunnel, still clinging as tightly to the page as I could. Landing on a dust covered wooden surface, I got up and rubbed my head.

' _Where am I?_ ' I thought as I looked around, wanting to figure out what was going on. Crawling over to the edge of the wooden surface, I soon found it was a bookshelf and I was in a dark room that looked like it hadn't been touched in ages. Dust and cobwebs covered everything.

On closer inspection, it looked like a child's bedroom. Looking up from where I fell in, I deducted I had fallen into a building.

"Hello? Anyone there?" I asked as the room stayed silent, quiet and still. Using my page as a parachute again, I drifted down from the bookshelf and landed on a dusty box on the floor. Noticing the handle on the side, I was about to use it to climb down when...

It started to turn by itself! Hearing a creepy and tinny music box tune, I realised what I was standing on just as the top of the box flew open and I was tossed onto the floor.

' _I can't let myself be too much of a punching bag!_ ' I thought, and got to my feet. Seeing something towering above me, I ducked as the sharp toothed Jack-in-the-Box moved to bite me.

As I dodged the clown head's attacks, I heard something from under the bookcase. Running towards it, trying to find an exit in the dark, I heard a distant echo.

"Once there was a poor boy, trampled by the rich. Wanting to have something, he was in a hitch." A male voice, sounding creepily like a small child reciting a poem, came from a hole in the wall. Heading into the hole, I fell again, but this time the fall wasn't too short.

Landing in a glass bottle, which corked itself enough to allow me to breathe, I looked out and saw I was in water while I curled the page around me. It was still dark, but I saw a light in the distance.

Pushing the side of the glass bottle, I felt it beginning to float away. As the bottle was pushed through the water, I kept a close eye on what was below me. The murky black water made me shiver, but I needed to keep my cool.

I heard something tapping on the glass and saw something had dived out of the water and back into it again, hitting itself on the bottle as it pushed it to one side. It was fish shaped, and at first I thought it was just being playful. But then I noticed it was trying to knock out the cork!

Pushing the bottle to try and avoid the fish, I saw the light coming closer towards me. The fish knocked out the cork just as I was able to escape the bottle and slide down towards the light, continuing to clutch the page. As I did, I heard that voice again.

"A beanstalk broke through his house, making him look like an ant. But that all changed for the boy, when he discovered he was a mutant!" The voice spoke as I fell down onto a pile of coins.

This time, the room was filled with treasure. There were coins, but there were also jewels and jewellery, glistening brightly in the light. I picked up a nearby small gemstone and could see myself reflected in it, it was that shiny.

I suddenly felt the coins building up around my feet, and saw that I was sinking into the mass of money. I grabbed my page and by weighing it down under the gem was able to pull myself back up and ran with it, as the coins seemed to gather up in a huge wave and follow after me.

Reaching a treasure chest, I hastily climbed into it and found myself sliding down a floor once again. Soon enough, the voice continued.

"He stole from the rich and gave to the poor, a plan which he could lean on, until the fateful M-Day came and then his powers were gone!" I heard as I fell down into grass.

As if things couldn't get any more weirder, I heard a buzzing sound and looked up to see a large bumblebee was pollinating a nearby flower. Thinking fast, I climbed up the stalk of a purple flower next to me and waited for the bee to come pollinate it. When the bee came, I jumped onto its back.

' _The others will be so weirded out when they hear about this._ ' I thought as I rode the bee across the grassy area, and towards a large tree. As I approached the tree, I could hear the voice again.

"Lost and alone with powers he couldn't regain, the boy was sad until a drug blessed him with his powers again!" This made my heart sink as I realised just what he was referring to.

' _The drug! This must have been the work of another mutant who took it!_ ' I exclaimed mentally as I jumped off my ride and into a hollow in the tree, where a smell that was less sweet than the water that shrank me but still very tempting was coming from.

This time, I landed on a countertop. To my right was an assortment of sweets arranged on and around a gingerbread house. As I made my way towards the house, I felt tempted to take a bite. I hadn't eaten in a little while.

But as much as I wanted some sugar, I resisted knowing that it would probably have a weird effect on me like the water did. After passing through the gingerbread house, leaving through a door in the back, I heard the voice once again.

"And now he stands here for you, a bulb that's not that dim, for I'm the boy I've sung about, and the boy's name is GRIMM!" The voice finished, and now I could clearly see its owner. It was a man who had fluffy and short brown hair, sitting on a stool next to an oven. He wore a white apron over denim jeans, and most curiously a green hoodie that was seemingly sewn from leaves, with brown stitching completing the look.

As the oven went off and he opened it up to take out some cookies, I prepared to grab his attention.

"HEY! STOP RIGHT THERE!" I shouted as loud as I could with my squeaky voice. Grimm noticed and after placing the cookies on the counter came over to where I was.

"Hello there, little insect." He looked down at me with a look that suggested he was pretty pissed. "You're cute." He pushed me back with his finger.

"I'm not just cute, I'm glad I found you, because you murdered some people!" I shouted at him, resisting the urge to blush because of how ridiculous I sounded with that squeaky voice.

"Yes, I did kill those people. But it was for a good cause. By taking what they had earned, I never had to earn much because they earned it for me." He then spotted the page in my hand.

"I'll take that." Suddenly, a glass cup was slammed down around me, and the page was whipped out from my hand and under the cup by Grimm.

Angered, I banged on the glass. "You're not going to get away with simply killing people for their money!"

"Of course I can, insect. In fairytales, anything is possible." Grimm replied to me, just as the whole building started to shake.

"Jamie! Jamie!" I heard Rictor's voice as he was shaking the building, causing things to fall and cracks to develop. Grimm still looked at me, seemingly trying to figure out how to torture me next.

After a few minutes of constant shaking, there was silence. Then I heard Rictor kicking and pushing things. Then I heard him move around the back of the building and kick and push again.

Then it all came crashing down. I was almost certain that tiny detective plus collapsing building equals death. But I didn't have to worry about being tiny for much longer, as when I came to I was normal again! So was Rictor!

"What happened in there?" He asked me. I was about to start explaining when I heard some coughing noises behind some wreckage. As we moved over, we saw Grimm drinking something clear and pineapple smelling from a small vial.

"I wanted to end things happily..." He croaked, as he rolled over and after coughing some more, threw up blood onto the dusty ground.

"We need to take him in alive." Rictor told me. I nodded and went to pick him up.

"You're going to hospital." I explained to him, but he looked too whacked out to respond as me and Rictor walked away from the collapsed building to find the hospital.


	8. Phoenix: Part 7

**Chapter 7**

 **Monet**

As Rahne and I finished tying the black haired man with a bit of a metallic look to him known as Steel to a chair behind the table, I gave Rahne a small nod then him a small nudge. Didn't look as if he was going to wake up yet.

When we actually sat behind the table, that's when he began to stir. His eyes opened and he looked up at us.

"You know, I'm usually not a fan of this type of playing, but if you're cool with it-" He started to say before Rahne promptly slapped him in the face. "Huh, I guess you are." He chuckled lightly.

Not having time for games right now, I looked him straight in the eyes.

"Listen mon amie, we have quite a few questions about you and your drug. You tell us what we wish to know, my friend Rahne doesn't eat your heart out." I told him, and glanced over at Rahne.

"I personally hope you aren't cooperative, the doctor says I need more iron in my diet." She hissed.

"It's steel technically. Look, you guys want a taste of Phoenix? Fine. You just let me go and I'll be sure to send a delivery boy here with-" Steel started to say before Rahne slapped him again.

"We're not interested in buying. We want to know where you made it and where your boss is. Are you going to tell us that or not?" I asked as he recovered from the second slap.

"What? You want to deal with these guys directly?" He chuckled in a sinister manner. "What Tombstone made here is a gift for Mutant Town. You know how miserable a lot of us mutants are because of Decimation? Phoenix here is practically a rebirth! Mutants can be who they used to be again!"

"Yeah? Well Phoenix here ended up destroying an entire nightclub full of mutants!" Rahne accused.

Steel rolled his eyes. "Because that idiot gave it to an already powered mutant? Please! Consider it a stupid, honest mistake! One that won't repeat again."

"And what about these withdrawals? You sure they won't happen again?" I asked confidently. That seemed to inject some worry into Steel.

"What withdrawals?" He asked me with a worried tone and look.

"Oh, you don't know? Apparently this drug causes the people who don't take it frequently enough to suffer severe internal damage. I had recently gotten off the phone with two of my friends who just now had to drop three mutants in the hospital because of Phoenix." I explained to him. "That includes your friend Jester."

"Please! That's totally overplayed-" Steel began, before he coughed. The first cough wasn't too bad, but the next one sounded worse. After a few more terrible sounding coughs, he brought up a ton of blood which splattered all over the table, as he wheezed and coughed again.

"I'm not cleaning that up.' Rahne whispered to me as he looked in horror at what he had brought up in front of us.

"Oh, that's not good." He said in an alarmed tone.

"Does it seem overplayed now?" I told him with a small smirk as Rahne stood up and went around to start untying him while I continued talking.

"Listen, you need to be in a hospital now. We're willing to take you there because we're not horrible people. All we ask is the location of where this drug is being made and where your boss is." I continued speaking while Rahne was busy undoing the knots in the nylon rope. "Look, I know you don't give two merdes about other people. But I'm sure you want to at least save your own skin."

Steel sighed. "Alright, fine. There's a garage near the harbor. It's called Ernest Don's Garage and Repair. That's where we make the supply and that's where Tombstone will be. Not that it matters. Tombstone's invincible. He'll kill you all. How do you plan on taking him on?" He asked us as we helped him up and towards the exit.

"Don't worry, one of us has it covered." I assured him.

 **Jamie**

Walking into the alleyway where I was supposed to be receiving the thing we needed to stop Tombstone, I pulled my cigarettes and my lighter from my pocket and lit up. Taking a puff and blowing smoke into the air, I looked up at the sky and out of the alley into the street. This whole case had been one heck of a weird one so far, but I assured myself we'd succeed.

"You know smoking's bad for you, right?" I suddenly heard a young woman's voice, jumped in shock and turned to my left to see one wearing a red, yellow and blue superhero outfit.

"Jesus! Don't do that!" I breathed in and out for a second, then calmly continued speaking. "Uh, you're not who I called for."

"Sorry about that! She wanted to come along." I jumped again and almost fell over as I saw none other than Spider-Man emerge on my right.

"Seriously stop it!" I took another second to calm myself down again. "Who the hell's the kid?" I asked him.

"My name is Ms. Marvel, and I'm Spider-Man's official sidekick!" The young woman proudly declared.

"Protege!" Spidey reminded her.

"Same thing!" Ms. Marvel replied.

"No it isn't!" Spidey snapped back.

I raised my hands and sighed. "Okay, okay whatever! Look, did you at least bring the thing?"

"You mean the Tomb-Cure? Yeah. Right here." Spidey said and handed me a small glass vial. "It's enough to make him weak enough for us to knock him down."

"Wait, us?" I asked upon hearing that.

"Yeah! We're going with you!" Ms. Marvel chirped.

"Wait, what?" I asked in confusion.

"Listen Jamie, I got a lot more experience with Tombstone than you and the rest of your team. Plus, Tombstone's got other goons with equally tough powers in his payroll so you're going to need some extra hands." Spidey explained to me.

"Besides, no way am I going to pass up my first legit boss battle!" Ms. Marvel added.

"I thought the Inventor was your first boss battle?" Spidey asked her.

The talking parakeet? That guy was lame! This Tombstone guy though, he's a real threat! I can't wait to kick his butt!" Ms. Marvel smiled at him.

"Kid, listen! This isn't a field trip! This is real life-and-death stuff here. If I'm going to let you guys come along, you only move in when I say so, I don't want to make my plan more complicated than it needs to be." I looked both in the eyes.

"Alright, sure! You're the boss! Right kid?" Spidey lightly nudged Ms. Marvel.

"Yeah, yeah. I get it." She replied.

"I'm gonna go prep the team. Meet me at the office in about half-an-hour." I reached into my other pocket and fished out my calling card before handing it to Spidey.

"You got it." He replied and stuffed the card in his pants! "What?" He asked.

"Uh, don't you have pockets?" I asked him.

"No?" Spidey looked at me with an innocent look.

"You know what? Forget it." I turned and started off back to the office, hearing Spidey and Ms. Marvel swing away behind me.


	9. Phoenix: Part 8

**CHAPTER 8**

 **RICTOR**

We had reached Ernest Don's Garage and Repair, the place where Tombstone was hiding. All of us (except for Layla, she was back at the office) had gathered on the rooftop, and I was soon to join them.

By that, I mean I was getting off from riding on the shoulders of Ms. Marvel, one of the superheroes Jamie had convinced to help us, along with Spider-Man. She was stretching me up to the roof.

"Remind me again why I had to be the elevator for you?" She asked me in an annoyed tone.

"I guess both of us got the short straw." I admitted as I got off of her shoulders and she joined me and everyone else on the roof.

"Alright, let's get this over with. Spidey, er, Spider-Man...Mr. Man? What do I call you?" Jamie asked Spider-Man.

"Spidey's good." Spidey replied.

"Right. Anyway, can you use your Spider-Sense thing to figure out what's in there?" Jamie continued.

"Even better. Karen? Can you see what's going on in there?" Spidey responded as his lenses glowed a soft light blue.

"Karen?" Katie inquired in confusion.

"Spidey's AI computer lady.' I heard Ms. Marvel whispering to her. A few moments later, Spidey was ready.

"Okay, I see the drug lab in the rear with a couple people, probably workers or guards. The front's the main garage. Lots of people there and armed." He explained.

"And Tombstone?" Jamie asked.

"In his office." Spidey replied.

"Okay, and what are the entrances?" Jamie continued to gather information.

"This skylight goes down into the lab. There's a window connected to Tombstone's office. Otherwise, front door's the only way in the main garage." Spidey finished. Jamie nodded and turned to the rest of us.

"Okay people, divide and conquer. Monet, Rahne, and Spidey, you're joining me through the window to Tombstone. We'll try to dose him with the Tomb-Cure and take him down silently if lucky. Rictor and Siryn, you go down the skylight and take out the lab, getting rid of every sample and ingredient there. The rest of you, wait by the front door and get ready to storm in and take down the goons on MY signal. Everybody got that?" He explained to us. We all nodded and I stood by the skylight with Siryn as everyone else headed to their positions.

"Ready for this?" I asked my partner. She replied with a smile and a cheery thumbs up. Tense silence followed. But it didn't last long, because...

"NOW!" Jamie gave us the signal, and we took it as our cue to jump down into the skylight. The four goons in the lab weren't ready for us in the slightest, and I grabbed one guy's arm. Siryn did the same to another, we smacked the two together and did the same to the other pair. Once that quick takedown was over, we nodded to each other, then it was time to get down to business.

I used a chair to break some of the lab equipment and the drug samples, while a few piercing shrieks from Siryn took care of some more of it. While we continued to destroy stuff, we heard numerous battle noises from outside. As I listened to them, I heard muffled shouts from the various goons.

"What the hell?"

"Kill these people!"

"Quickly, before the drug is destroyed!"

All of a sudden, there was a loud crash, a growl of rage, then yet another crash. An unconscious man landed at our feet, and outside we could see our enemy, Tombstone. The battle wasn't going very well.

"Well, I see you guys found my little lab." He said with a dark chuckle, having tossed Spidey into Ms. Marvel. He then turned and saw us. "And it looks like I'm going to have start all over."

Almost immediately, Siryn took flight and darted towards Tombstone, ready to scream. But as soon as she was within reach, she was grabbed by the throat and choked. It was a painful sight. Guido got up and charged towards Tombstone, desperate to save Siryn, but when Tombstone could grab his arm, he did and twisted it, as Guido let out a sharp yelp of pain.

And it wasn't like anyone else could help. The others were dazed, bruised, broken and hurt, and were struggling to pick themselves up. But I had an idea. I looked behind me at the ruined lab.

"Kind of ironic ain't it? A normal person like myself trying to give mutants their gifts back, only for mutants to try and take them away. You know, if it wasn't for that nightclub incident, all of this could have happened silently and none would be the wiser. But I guess now the best option right now is to kill you." Tombstone spoke, as I finished readying myself and turned to him.

"That's funny. I was ALMOST going to say the same thing. Just minus the killing part!" I told him as I approached Tombstone. Having taken the drug during Tombstone's speech, I felt a familiar rush of energy. Wasting no time at all, I stoped the floor hard.

The result was the warehouse shook. Tombstone lost his footing, and as a result dropped both Siryn and Guido. As the warehouse continued to shake on, starting to crumble, I slowly approached Tombstone, punching the sides of the walls to seismically vibrate them for good measure.

"What are you doing?" Tombstone asked, now clearly afraid.

"Bringing this whole mess down!" I responded. One stomp later, and it all came crashing down.

It was quiet. At least, until I heard soft breathing and slight laughter. Opening my eyes, I saw Ms. Marvel, giant. She had wrapped herself around us to protect us from the collapse. Next to me, under a bunch of rubble, was Tombstone... unconscious!

"Not bad kid!" Spidey gave a thumbs up as Ms. Marvel shrank herself back down to normal.

"Thanks. Um, this still counts right? I took down Tombstone?" She asked.

"Technically Rictor was the one who took him down." Monet translated what Siryn was currently signing, as everyone looked in my direction.

"Aw! But I helped!" Ms. Marvel moaned as Spidey gave her a few reassuring pats on the shoulder.

"One day rookie. One day." He said to her.

 **KATIE**

After a while of taking in our victory, it was time to start picking up the pieces.

The police had showed up and were taking Tombstone into custody. An ambulance had also shown up, ready to take Rictor to hospital after he took the drug to save us all. While the police were taking Tombstone in, Siryn and Monet were telling them all the information on what happened.

Standing a little distance away from the scene, I saw Rahne and Guido helping to clear the wreckage and check it for anymore knocked out goons. Jamie finished thanking Spidey and Ms. Marvel for their help and walked up to me after they had left.

"Well, I just got chewed up by Eddie for destruction of private property and told me that me and my team have less than half an hour to leave the scene before Singularity arrives to give us all kinds of hell. But on the plus side we just stopped a big-time crime boss from spreading chaos and destruction via magic mutant power giving drugs so...moral victory!" He explained and smiled at me.

"Thank you. Really, this means a lot!" I blushed and smiled back, before my smile fell. "I just realized though, I honestly have no way to pay you for this!"

"You're right. We didn't negotiate anything before we took this case on." Jamie nodded at me.

"And apparently since Singularity is pretty much taking over your case, this whole thing was pointless to you right?" I asked him.

"Not really. I mean, I started X-Factor Investigations primarily because I wanted to help people after my little run with Xavier's school, and what we just did helped a lot of people." He told me.

"Yeah. Makes sense." I stated, and after a small stretch of awkward silence and me thinking this through, I spoke up. "Actually, I was thinking, maybe I can work for you?"

"Huh?" This confused Jamie a little.

"I mean, I'll confess. I kind of always wanted to be a detective growing up." I told him."

"Well, you do know that real detective work isn't-" I cut Jamie off to keep talking.

"Yeah, Layla already gave me that speech, but honestly? I don't care. I'd like to help you people out! I can help you track clues, follow suspects, even the pervy stuff like finding proof someone's screwing someone else. I'm all for it! And you can just take my first few paychecks as payment for this case and-" Then he cut me off.

"Alright!" Jamie cheered.

"Alright?" I tilted my head a little.

"Alright! You got the job. We have a spare room you can move in along with any other stuff you might need-" That's all I needed to hear right now.

I ran forward and pulled Jamie into a tight hug. Surprised, he awkwardly returned the hug.

Now I was part of X-Factor Investigations. And I couldn't wait to find out what would happen next!


	10. Cold as Ice: Part 1

**COLD AS ICE: Part 1**

 **KATIE** :

It was the hottest week in Mutant Town. Literally. The average temperature from the forecast were in the high 80's and 90's, covering the city in a heavy block of unbearable heat. Parts of freshly paved asphalt were melting again, the brick walls were searing hot to touch, and you could not stand walking outside without breathing fire down your throats and your body blanketed in sweat.

Inside our office was just slightly better. At least it would be if our air conditioner was working. Jamie currently had the rusty wall unit sitting on the desk as he was continuously banging on it with his fist. He was currently wearing a black t-shirt with green circles, as well as having his standard pair of jeans on with black sneakers. Guido, Monet, and Rahne were sitting on the couch, miserable and stripped of their jackets, leaving on t-shirts or tank-tops. Siryn and I just leaned against a wall, each using a magazine to try and fan ourselves cool. Rictor was sitting on a seat drenched in sweat, and Layla was leaning on the desk, annoyed by the constant thumping of Jamie's fist on the air conditioner.

"You're going to break it," Layla groaned.

"I'm not going to break it!" Jamie said, "This stupid thing just needs a little whack and-"

And his fist ended up right through the shell of the air conditioner, leaving a gaping hole on it. Our air conditioner was officially dead.

"Well, great!" Rictor said angrily.

"I warned you!" Layla added in.

"Hey come on!" Jamie complained, "This thing is ancient and-" With a yell of frustration, he just threw the air conditioner off the desk and onto the floor, breaking it even more.

"Ay, yi, yi! I just can't work in this heat!" Guido said, "Even Rahne isn't feeling so good about this!" Rahne was panting on the couch, her tongue sticking out like a dog.

"Hey, part wolf here!" Rahne panted as her excuse.

"Jamie, if you had just listened to me and called the repairman-" Monet began before Jamie snapped back.

"I said I could fix it!"

"Except you didn't!"

"I said I THINK I could fix it!"

Things began to heat up in the room, this time figuratively. Arguments started to spring from each member, their words and tones creating a web of tension and discomfort. I needed to put an end to this, and I think I might have an idea. I turned to Siryn and asked if she could get everyone's attention. With a relieved look, she nodded.

 **"HEY!"** Siryn called out, her screech verberating across the room. It wasn't loud enough to break glass this time, but it did get everybody's attention as they all turned to face us.

"Thanks," I said to Siryn, who responded with a smile.

"Okay, obviously this heat is unbearable," I said to the others, "And it's causing us all to experience some tension."

"Gee, ya think?" Rahne said only to be shushed by Monet.

"So, I think we all need a way to cool off," I said, "Take a break. Get this stress off all our backs." There were murmurs of agreement among the group.

"A break would actually be nice," Jamie said.

"I definitely could use one!" Guido said.

"Oui, I think we all do," Monet agreed.

"Sweet! But where would we go?" Layla asked.

"Glad you asked!" I responded, "I was thinking we could all go to Coney Island!"

"Coney Island?" Jamie asked.

"Yeah!" I said excitedly, "I mean, I've never been there, but I heard it's a great spot to cool off! You know, with the roller coasters, the pier, the sea…"

"I'm not so sure about being near the ocean," Rahne said concerned.

"Oh come now Rahne, it should be fun!" Monet said.

"All right!" Jamie said happily, "Guys, looks like work's off for the day because we are going to Coney Island!"

 **JAMIE:**

Immediately I felt a relief as we all entered the bus, which thankfully was air conditioned. Admittedly the fare for eight people riding to Coney Island nearly killed my mood, but once we paid and settled in, it was smooth sailing, so to speak. All of us had changed into "beach wear," which mainly consisted of shorts, sandals, and either t-shirts or tank-tops that were our respective colors. I'm not sure WHY we have respected colors seeing as we're just a team of private investigators, but I guess old habits die hard. Some of us, like Monet and Siryn were wearing sunglasses, and we were all carrying bags that contained water bottles, an extra set of clothes, and our swimwear. We were all set for a day at Coney Island!

"So you're saying the Cyclone is the oldest roller coaster in the nation?" Katie asked excitedly, "How is it still standing after all these years?"

"Probably a lot of maintenance and dedicated workers," Monet replied.

"Ah, I don't do roller-coasters," Guido said, "I mean, who'd want to sit in a tiny metal rickety train car rolling at high speeds on unstable tracks when you're my size?"

"Don't worry Guido," Monet said with a reassuring pat, "There's some other stuff we can do there. I hear they recently opened a hall of mirrors."

"Just as long as we aren't touching any water I'll be fine," Rahne said.

"What is it with you and water?" Katie asked, to which Siryn gave her a quick pat on the arm to draw her attention.

 _She had a bad experience when we were just X-Factor_ , she signed, _Part of a prank a couple of the boys played._

"No!" Katie said snickering, "Seriously?"

"What did she say?" Rahne asked angrily.

"Just that you're more of a werecat than a werewolf," Layla said with a smirk.

"Why do I even talk to you guys?" Rahne said in anger.

"Wow!" Katie said, "People sure are excited about going to Coney Island." I turned to see that there was some commotion in the bus, as a bunch of people were looking out the windows, some of them standing. The bus slowly crawled to a stop as it pulled over, and people began filing out. We followed them to the side of the road to see what they were seeing.

It was Coney Island all right, except VERY different. For starters, it was snowing, in the middle of July. The boardwalk of Coney Island was covered in snow and ice, and large jagged ice spikes erupted from the pier. Something happened over here, obviously. And it was definitely unusual! Katie looked particularly surprised.

"Just for the record, when I said let's cool off at Coney Island, this isn't what I meant!"


	11. Cold as Ice: Part 2

**COLD AS ICE: Part 2**

 **MONET:**

Confession time. I've always wanted to see what Coney Island would like in the winter. I understand that the natural way weather works usually means that it doesn't really snow at the seaside. I remember how I used to try and will myself to ask Professor Storm to make it snow at the beach back when I was in Xavier's Academy.

Well, now I'm walking in a winterfied Coney Island. But instead of being wonderful, it was haunting. The air was devoid of the delightful sounds of children laughing and carnival games running. What remained was a low howl of the wind. The boardwalk was covered in thick sheet of blue ice, and all around me were strange ice sculptures spiked in a direction away from the blast epicenter. Upon furthur inspection, I realized they were people frozen with terrified expressions.

Not to mention, it was cold. I shivered in my maroon t-shirt and black shorts, obviously not dressed for a day in the middle of winter. The rest of XFI were also cold and shivering, all except for Rahne who was currently in her wolf form. Oh how I would give to grow my own fur coat right about now!

Rahne was sniffing ahead of the group as we walked down the pier, untill she stopped, perking her head up.

"Whatever happened started over here," she growled. I noticed her brushing her paw on the ground to reveal a damage sign. It was for the Hall of Mirrors. And right in front of use were the shambled remains of the Hall of Mirrors, a skeleton of icey wood blown apart by such force. As we walked forward, I noticed that there was a frozen man in the center, but something was very wrong. Something seemed to have erupted from his chest. It wasn't until I stepped closer that I was hit with smell.

"Oh God!" I yelled out as I covered by nose and mouth. The man was frozen mid explosion, and the stuff erupting from his chest were his guts, frozen like a sinister sculpture. Siryn turned away with a pale expression, and Kate turned to block Layla's view, much to her annoyed confusion.

"Jesus!" Jamie said disturbed, "That is messed up!"  
"I'm going to take a wild guess and say that he's the catalyst in this scenario," Rictor said.

"Not sure," Jamie said, "I mean, look at him-"

"I'd rather not," I said.

"I think judging from his position, he must have experienced some massive power-surge in the chest area, causing him to explode," Jamie continued, "But something's telling me the ice wasn't part of the equation."

"Yeah," Strong Guy said agreeing, "I met that ice guy before-"

"Iceman?" Katie asked.

"Yeah him," Strong Guy said, "He would do a pose similar to this when letting out what he calls a 'Freeze Bomb', only his guts wouldn't spill out like this."

"So I'm guessing either this guy tried to the Freeze Bomb and failed miserably," Jamie surmised, "Or somebody freezed him right as he was exploding."

"Why would someone do that?" Layla asked.

 _Maybe whoever did this was trying to stop the explosion_ , Siryn signed.

"And it looks like it failed," I added, "So maybe whoever did this probably thought they could do some more damage by mixing ice powers with the explosion."

"Guys, I found something!" Rahne said as she sniffed a corner. With her pawed hand she lifted up an object dangling from a small metal chain. It seemed to be a pendent of some sort, shaped like a blue snowflake.

"I'm guessing whoever did this dropped this," Rictor said.

"No shit Dupine," Layla said annoyed.

"Uh, shouldn't that be Sherlock?" Katie asked.

"Yeah, but Auguste Dupine was the first," Layla said nonchalantly.  
"Can we focus please?" Jamie said.

"Well, at least we have a lead," I surmised, "I should give this a closer look, preferably somewhere wa-" That's when I felt an unusual feeling in the air. Not supernatural, but given the current situation, something different.

"Is it getting warm here?" I asked.

"Ew! Eugh!" I heard Rahne's cries of disgust as I noticed her lifting her paws from the ice that was melting into puddles. As the rest of the frozen wood and panelling melted, the loose pieces fell to the ground with clatters and splashes. The exploded man also melted, his guts and his lifeless body flopping to the ground. The smell was now worse, really plunging into my nose despite my best efforts to block my nostrils. I had to turn and exit the building as the rest of Coney Island melted.

The frozen people fell over but were alive, almost dazed and confused. I noticed a dark shadown loom overhead, though with the sun, it was hard to tell who or what it was. The shadown lowered and soon I saw exactly who it was. Storm, the former leader of the X-Men, floated downwards, possibly responsible for the sudden rise in heat. As she landed right in front of her, I was struck at the beauty and power of her presence. She may not be an X-Man anymore, but she still wore her iconic black and gold outfit, complete with long black cape and her long white flowing hair. She was like a princess or a god, radiating authority and power. And when she looked at us, her cold steel blue eyes regarded me and the rest of XFI intently.

"This area is closed off to the public," she said sternly, "I hope you young ones have a reason for being here."

"Uh, we were on vacation Miss," I said nervously to my former mentor and famous mutant.

"Are you...Storm?" Katie asked, clearly more fangirling than I am.

"Indeed I am little one," Storm said with a small smirk, "But I must say, a frozen Coney Island seems like an odd place to vacation."

"Well, that's because we're not vacation anymore," Jamie said stepping forward. Storm turned to him and her previously friendly demeanor turned cold.

"Jamie," she regarded, "You always had a tendency to be in places where you shouldn't."

"Hey, if this is about me walking in on your 'meeting' with Prince T'Challa, I swear…" Storm didn't respond, but continued with her cold look.

"You don't care about that," Jamie said with a twinge of nervousness in his poker face demeanor, "But the point is, we were just hired to investigate this disturbance. From what we've currently been able to gather, this was the sight of a murder." Jamie turned to the rest of us, with a look that basically said "Right guys?" After a brief moment of concerned confusion, most of us nodded in agreement. Storm however, didn't look convinced.

"Alright," Storm said suspiciously, "Well, if you wish to continue your investigation, you can start by helping me get these unfrozen people to a hospital. Maybe you might get a witness."

"Yes! Exactly!" Jamie said confidently, "We'll get right on that."


End file.
